2T Stalker
The 2T Stalker, also known as BM-2T Stalker, is an armoured vehicle used by the Belarusian Army. Armament Fire Control System The vehicle incorporates a multi-channel day/night optical electronic suit. Weapons The weapon set of the 2T Stalker comprises a stabilized 30 mm caliber automatic cannon, a coaxial machine gun, an automatic grenade launcher, as well as four ready missiles; two anti-aircraft and two anti-tank missiles. Main and coaxial guns The 2T Stalker comprises a 30 mm automatic cannon 2A42 as the main armament, as announced in 2001. The gas-operated gun is a dual feed multipurpose small caliber weapon, that has a dual rate of fire with a minimum rate of 200-300 or 550 rounds per minute (rds/min), where the rapid fire mode assures 800 rds/min. The sustained rate of fire is 200 rds/min, though. The gun is intended for engaging materiel, low flying aircraft, light vehicles, and dismounted infantry. With a muzzle velocity of 960 m/s, the gun is capable of defeating a light Armored Personnel Carrier at a range of 1,500 meters, a soft-skinned vehicle at 4,000 meters, and slow-flying aircraft at altitudes up to 2,000 meters and slant ranges of up to 2,500 meters. The coaxial gun for the vehicles is a 7.62 mm caliber machine gun. Grenade launcher The AGS-17 Plamya (Russian: Пламя) is a Soviet-designed automatic grenade launcher currently in production in the Russian Federation and in service worldwide. Nickname Plamya means ‘flame’. Retractable launchers The missile armament of the Stalker consists of two retractable launchers each with two missile launchers. Inside the vehicle, are four missiles, bringing the total number of missiles to six. Typically, each retractable launcher is specific for a type of missiles, the right one firing Anti-Air missiles, while the left one firing Anti-Armor missiles. Anti-Tank Missiles (AT-6 Spiral) The 9K114 Shturm (NATO reporting name is AT-6 SPIRAL) is a tube-launched, SACLOS antitank guided missile. The missile has replaced the older 3M11 Falanga (AT-2 SWATTER) on the Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter, yet the SACLOS system with IR missile tracking, and radio guidance, similar to the uprated version of the SWATTER, the AT-2c, operates the same as the AT-4 SPIGOT and AT-5 SPANDLER which unlike the AT-6 SPIRAL are wire-guided. The AT-6 is said to be a laser-guided missile based on/ version of the American Hellfire missile, however, that is as incorrect as erroneous crediting of the missile with 7,000-10,000 meters as the maximum rage. The AT-6 missile is a 130mm caliber tube launched, Semi-Automatic Command to Line-Of-Sight (SACLOS) Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) that can engage targets within 400-5,000 meters. The conventional shaped-charge warhead of the basic Shturm is believed to ba capable of penetrating 560-600mm of armor, where the warhead that contains two tandem HEAT charges would punch through 600–700 mm of rolled homogenous steel armor (RHE). Anti-Air missiles (SA-18 Grouse) The 9K38 Igla (NATO reporting name is S-18 Grouse) is a 72.2mm man-portable air defense missile weighting 10.6 kilograms with a 1.3 kilogram warhead. The missile itself is 1.67 meters long, the container is 1.708 meters and the whole system weights 17 kilograms. The system is designed to engage fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, cruise missiles and UAVs flying at speeds of 360–400 m/s in head-on engagement (approaching target) and up to 320 m/s in tail chase (receding target) within their optical visibility and in the night-time conditions in background clutter and thermal countermeasures environment. The system uses thermal battery/gas bottle, and is armed with a high-explosive warhead fitted with a contact and grazing fuse. The missile has a maximum range of 5200 meters and operates at altitudes from ten and up to 3500 meters. The 9M39 missile SA-18 employs an IR (infrared) guidance system using proportional convergence logic. The new seeker offers better protection against electro-optical jammers; the probability of kill against an unprotected fighter is estimated at 30-48%, and the use of IRCM jammers only degrades this to 24-30%. Comparable vehicles Infantry Fighting Vehicles * Mitsubishi Type 89 IFV * BMP-3 * K21 * Puma * A3 Bradley * Egyptian Infantry Fighting Vehicle See also * Armored warfare * Reconnaissance vehicle References Military of Belarus Category:Tracked vehicles Category:Armoured fighting vehicles of the post–Cold War period